Analysis of the Composition and Functions of the Microbiome in Diabetic Foot Osteomyelitis Based on 16S rRNA and Metagenome Sequencing Technology

Metagenome sequencing has not been used in infected bone specimens. This prospective observational study explored the microbiome and its function in patients with diabetic foot osteomyelitis (DFO) and posttraumatic foot osteomyelitis (PFO) based on 16S rRNA sequencing and metagenome sequencing technologies. Spearman analysis was used to explore the correlation between dominant species and clinical indicators of patients with DFO. High-throughput sequencing showed that all the specimens were polymicrobial. The microbial diversity was significantly higher in the DFO group than in the PFO group.Firmicutes,Prevotellaceae, andPrevotellawere the most abundant microbes in the DFO group. The most abundant microbes in the PFO group wereProteobacteria,Halomonadaceae, andHalomonas.Prevotella denticola,Prevotella jejuni, andPrevotella fuscahad positive correlation with the duration of diabetic foot infection (DFI_d).Proteus vulgariswas positively correlated with the infection index, whileBacteroides fragiliswas negatively correlated. The microbial functional genes were more abundant in the DFO group than in the PFO group. Metagenome sequencing is feasible for the analysis of the microbiome in infected bone specimens. Gram-negative bacteria and anaerobes are dominant in DFO.